Amidst the craziness of the start of the NBA playoffs and the MLB season, sits the NFL draft. This Saturday the Giants will try to put a cherry on top of what has been a very active off season.

Through free agency, the Giants added a lot of depth to their defensive line which tired out at the end of last season. They also signed CC Brown to help sure up the secondary. The team’s best signing might have been Michael Boley, who will give the Giants some real talent at outside linebacker after two seasons of poor play from that position. More than anything else, this draft will help the Giants add depth more than potential star talent.

The one glaring hole in the Giants depth chart is obviously at wide receiver. There are a couple of wide receivers in this draft that have the potential to be a #1 wide out in the NFL, but it is not likely that one will fall to the Giants’ 29th pick. From the looks of all the analysts’ picks, Hakeem Nicks has a chance of falling that low; but I wouldn’t bet the farm on it. Percy Harvin will most likely be available but he doesn’t fit into what the Giants need, so they should (and probably will) pass on him in the first round.

If the Giants can make a move on draft day to trade for Braylon Edwards or Anquan Boldin, I think that’s something that has to be done. The Giants almost have a Super Bowl caliber team right now, and all that’s missing is that number one target for Eli Manning. Either of these players can fill that void. Keep in mind that if Michael Crabtree falls to the fifth pick, the Browns may become much more willing to move Edwards. (Justin Tuck also recently commented on how Edwards, Boldin, or Chad Johnson would fit in with the Giants.)

Other than wide receiver, the Giants need to draft for depth. While they had the best offensive line in the NFL last season, there isn’t much behind those front five guys. David Diehl and Chris Snee are the only starting linemen that are under 30 years old, so the Giants should have some insurance on the sideline. This draft is stocked with O-linemen, so look for the Giants to draft at least two this weekend.

The Giants front office have had a very good record of drafting players over the last few years (see Brandon Jacobs, Justin Tuck, Mathias Kiwanuka, etal.); so I’m not too worried about draft day. I securely put my trust in Jerry Reese and company to make the right decisions.

Happy drafting fellas!

(I hope they at least do better than the fantasy baseball team I drafted … Chien Meng Wang is kamikazii-ing my team.)

The Giants’ 2009 regular season schedule was released this week and it’s a doosy.

Aside from the six tough division games that are a part of being an NFC East team, the Giants also have to face the AFC East and the NFC South (those eight teams had a combined record of 78-50 in ‘08). The Giants will also have to face Carolina twice, Minnesota, Arizona, and San Diego - who were all playoff teams last season. So, if you have been doing the math, the G-Men will be playing seven out of the other eleven teams that made the playoffs last year.

No doubt this is shaping up to be a tough season for the Giants, especially now that they are without a go-to wide receiver (although there have been more rumors that they are in talks with the Browns about Braylon Edwards; Anquan Boldin may also still be available). The positives of this schedule are that the Giants will play on national, prime-time television five times this season, they have their first three game road trip in fifteen years (I only list this as positive because the Giants have dominated on the road for the past two seasons), and their bye is in Week 10. The mid-season bye week is nice because it will let the Giants re-group and refresh in the middle of season - as opposed to that Week 4 bye last year which really only delays players’ ability to get into the rhythm of the NFL season.

The only other gripe I have with the Giants’ 2009 schedule is that they will end their season in Minnesota, again. The repetition doesn’t bother me as much as the fact that Giants’ Stadium is being demolished after this season and the Jets will be the team to play the last game in it. That makes about as much sense as bringing an unlicensed handgun to a nightclub and shooting yourself in the leg with it. (Yeah, I’m gonna milk those Plax references at least until the ‘09 season starts.)

Here’s the Giants complete 2009-10 schedule:

Week 1: Washington, 4:15 PM

Week 2: @ Dallas, 8:20 PM

Week 3: @ Tampa Bay, 1:00 PM

Week 4: @ Kansas City, 1:00 PM

Week 5: Oakland, 1:00 PM

Week 6: @ New Orleans, 1:00 PM

Week 7: Arizona, 8:20 PM

Week 8: @ Philadelphia, 4:15 PM

Week 9: San Diego, 4:15 PM

Week 10: Bye

Week 11: Atlanta, 1 PM

Week 12: @ Denver, 8:20 PM (Thursday Night)

Week 13: Dallas, 4:15 PM

Week 14: Philadelphia, 8:20 PM

Week 15: @ Washington, 8:30 PM (Monday Night)

Week 16: Carolina, 1:00 PM

Week 17: @Minnesota, 1:00PM

The New York Giants cut embattled WR Plaxico Burress today. Burress was charged with illegal possession of a firearm after he shot himself in the leg during the 2008-09 season and had his court case dismissed until June.

According to an article on ESPN.com, the big issue became the $1 million signing bonus that the Giants failed to pay after the shooting. The NFL Player’s Union filed a grievance which will be resolved within a week. Apparently, Burress’ agent Drew Rosenhaus wanted to negotiate with the Giants on this issue; perhaps meet them halfway on the bonus payment. Burress, however, was adamant that he wanted the full million. A team source told ESPN reporter Sal Paolantonio that Burress’ refusal to compromise on this issue made it clear that he no longer wished to be a part of the organization.

It doesn’t surprise me that the Giants cut Burress. The timing of it is questionable, however. It seemed as if the Giants were going to stick with Burress after they passed on offering TJ Houshmenzedah or Terrell Owens a contract (although, I would never expect a competant team of managers to sign TO, sorry Buffalonians…). There were rumors that Anquan Boldin or Braylon Edwards may be available but it doesn’t seem like either of those are realistic possibilities. And, unless they can move up in the draft, I doubt that one of those impact wide receivers will fall to the G-Men. One thing is certain, though, if they want a chance to compete for a Super Bowl next year, they need to obtain a quality number one receiver.

This NFL off season has been defined by wide receivers. In a generally thin draft class, the wide-outs are one of the few positions that shows any depth. That includes the best skill player available, Michael Crabtree. The transaction that has dominated the headlines since the Super Bowl was the Bills signing of Terrell Owens. And, now, a wide receiver dominates the NFL news again.

Plaxico Burress’ gun possession case was adjourned yesterday; the case will be tried in June. I don’t really get all this legal jibber-jaber but ESPN had a nice article with pictures that made it easy to understand. Here are some important points brought up in the report:

1. A plea agreement was not reached, so Burress’ future is still in jeopardy. He has been charged with possession of a weapon in the second degree which carries a minimum jail sentence of three and a half years.
2. Over the last year, 8 out of 10 people charged with this crime in NYC got off with reduced sentences and only 14% were convicted of that charge.

Jerry Reese has stated multiple times this off season that he would welcome back Plax to the team. Many Giants’ fans aren’t as confident in Burress’ ability to mature as Reese and the rest of the team seem to be. But the entire team really seems to respect Plaxico and that makes me think that maybe we, as fans, are underestimating him. In either case, though, it looks as if we’re relying on Burress to return. The front office did not make a move to grab one of the elite WRs allegedly available this off season (between Houshmanzedah, Edwards, Boldin, and TO; although I’m glad they didn’t pick up one of them, guess which one…)

With this in mind, we have to pray that Burress’ case is settled quickly and with minimal to no jail time. According to the statistics in the ESPN article, it looks like there’s a good chance that Plax could return to the field in time for next season. I never thought I’d even think this again, but it looks like there’s a pretty realistic chance that Burress will play for the Giants next season. (Ugh, I just threw up in my mouth a little.)